Cathepsin-L as New Diagnostic Biomarker for Detection and Pathogenesis of Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

        Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease in Western countries, most likely related to the increased incidence of obesity, metabolic illnesses, and exposure to certain environmental chemicals.  Objective: The aim of this study was to forecast the severity and course of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients who were in the early stages of the disease., Cathepsins are the most prevalent lysosomal proteases, mostly found in acidic endo/lysosomal compartments, where they play a key role in intracellular protein degradation, energy metabolism, and immunological responses, among a variety of other function., Evaluated demographic factors (Age, BMI, ) for the two study groups and  insulin ,blood glucose and HOMA IR  and lipid profile and liver function test and albumin Also assessing the levels of Cathespin L level, The current study was conducted on 60 Iraqi patients in Najaf Governorate, Iraq, diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in addition to 30 healthy individuals. The age of study groups ranged from 20 to 60 years. Methods:  The Cobas C111 device and the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to determine the levels of study criteria.  Results indicated that the body mass index (BMI) of the fatty liver disease that of the healthy group, while HDL and albumin levels decreased. The study also showed group was higher than an increase in LDL and vLDL cholesterol, triglyceride, AST and ALT. The study showed that Cathespin L levels in the serum of patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy group.